Terminator seeds represent another attack on traditional farming

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What is the “terminator seed” proposed
for use in agriculture, and why is it so controversial? Since the dawn of civilization farmers have saved the
seeds spawned by their crops and replanted them to grow more crops. Such is
the natural science of agriculture that has provided food for thousands of
years.But a technology developed in 1998 by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and the Delta & Pine Land Co., the United
States’ largest producer of cotton seeds, genetically engineers seeds
to produce sterile offspring after the given crops yield their annual
harvest. Though not yet commercially available, this would force farmers to
purchase new seeds every year, ensuring greater sales for seed companies. The USDA and biotech companies like Monsanto (which
now owns Delta & Pine) claim that the innovation, called
“terminator” technology, is not about profits but instead about
preventing the escape of genetically modified plants into the wild, which
could affect local plant diversity. The technology also protects companies
from farmers trying to pirate their seeds. USDA molecular biologist Melvin
Oliver, the terminator’s primary inventor, says: “Our mission
is to protect U.S. agriculture and to make us competitive in the face of
foreign competition. Without this, there is no way of protecting the
patented seed technology.”Farm, food, and environmental advocates alike say
that, well, that’s exactly what does make it about profits. They fear
the technology could put small farmers around the world out of business
because they cannot afford to buy new seeds every year. This could in turn
spell widespread starvation for those who depend on them for their
sustenance. Indian author and human-rights advocate Vandana Shiva, writing
in her 2000 book Stolen Harvest, calls terminator technology one of many “innovative
ways to steal nature’s harvest, the harvest of the seed, and the
harvest of nutrition.”Indeed, the technology could enable seed companies,
which spend millions every year filing and protecting patents on individual
seed strains, to enter new markets in developing countries, further
extending their economic power and limiting the number of different
agricultural strains being cultivated. “Having a handful of biotechnology companies
controlling the production and distribution of seeds makes farmers hostage
to the economic exploitation by this industry,” says Gary Goldberg of
the American Corn Growers Association. And speaking in support of
legislation introduced in May 2007 to ban the testing and commercializing
of terminator seed technology in Canada, Colleen Ross of Canada’s
National Farmers Union said, “Genetic seed sterilization is dangerous
and blatantly anti-farmer — suicide seeds threaten to intensify
corporate control over Canadian agriculture and offer no benefits for
farmers.”In 2000, the United Nations, under its Convention on
Biodiversity, got into the terminator fray by declaring a global moratorium
on the technology because of environmental and socioeconomic concerns about
its use. In March 2006 the U.N. upheld the moratorium, in the face of
challenges by several countries — including Australia, Canada, and
New Zealand — pushing for commercialization. For more info: Stolen Harvest,
www.southendpress.org/2004/items/Stolen; Convention on Biodiversity,
www.biodiv.org/default.shtml. Send questions to Earth Talk, care of E/The Environmental Magazine,
P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881 or e-mail earthtalk@emagazine.com.